Ionomer for Fuel Cell Capable of Self-Assembly and Method of Preparing the Same
AssigneesHyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, UIF (University Industry Foundation), Yonsei University
InventorsIl Seok Chae, Jong Kil Oh, Jong Hak Kim, Du Yeol Ryu, So Youn Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An embodiment ionomer for a fuel cell includes a copolymer having no carbon-oxygen bond, wherein the copolymer includes hydrophilic moieties disposed at both ends, wherein each hydrophilic moiety includes a styrene unit and a proton conductive functional group, and a hydrophobic moiety interposed between the hydrophilic moieties, wherein the hydrophobic moiety includes an ethylene-based unit, a butylene-based unit, an isoprene-based unit, or any combination thereof.
Claims18
An ionomer for a fuel cell, the ionomer comprising:
- a copolymer having no carbon-oxygen bond, wherein the copolymer comprises:
- hydrophilic moieties disposed at both ends, wherein each hydrophilic moiety comprises a styrene unit and a proton conductive functional group;
- and
- a hydrophobic moiety interposed between the hydrophilic moieties, wherein the hydrophobic moiety comprises an ethylene-based unit, a butylene-based unit, an isoprene-based unit, or any combination thereof.
A fuel cell comprising:
- an electrolyte membrane;
- a cathode disposed on a first surface of the electrolyte membrane;
- and
- an anode disposed on a second surface of the electrolyte membrane;
- and
- wherein the electrolyte membrane, the cathode, or the anode comprises an ionomer comprising a copolymer having no carbon-oxygen bond, wherein the copolymer comprises:
- hydrophilic moieties disposed at both ends, wherein each hydrophilic moiety comprises a styrene unit and a proton conductive functional group;
- and
- a hydrophobic moiety interposed between the hydrophilic moieties, wherein the hydrophobic moiety comprises an ethylene-based unit, a butylene-based unit, an isoprene-based unit, or any combination thereof.
A method for preparing an ionomer for a fuel cell, the method comprising:
- reacting a starting material comprising chloromethylated styrene ethylene-butylene styrene (CMSEBS) and a monomer having a sulfonic acid-protecting group to obtain an intermediate material represented by
- and
- removing the sulfonic acid-protecting group from the intermediate material to obtain the ionomer represented by
- wherein x1=x×a, x2=x×(1−a), a is a number from 0.1 to 0.9, and x is a number from 10 to 1,000;
- wherein x1′=x′×(1−a′), x2′=x′×a′, a′ is a number from 0.1 to 0.9, and x′ is a number from 10 to 1,000;
- wherein y is a number from 10 to 1,000;
- wherein z is a number from 10 to 1,000;
- and
- wherein n is a number from 2 to 12.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.